{"id":15574,"date":"2023-04-18T21:40:20","date_gmt":"2023-04-19T04:40:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/parking-garage-collapses-in-nyc-killing-1-5-injured\/"},"modified":"2023-04-18T21:40:21","modified_gmt":"2023-04-19T04:40:21","slug":"parking-garage-collapses-in-nyc-killing-1-5-injured","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/parking-garage-collapses-in-nyc-killing-1-5-injured\/","title":{"rendered":"Parking garage collapses in NYC, killing 1; 5 injured"},"content":{"rendered":"

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NEW YORK \u2013 A parking garage collapsed Tuesday in lower Manhattan\u2019s Financial District, killing one worker, injuring five and crushing cars as concrete floors fell on top of each other like a stack of pancakes, officials said.<\/p>\n

Vehicles tumbled into what looked like a frozen stream of sedans and SUVs. People nearby described a fearsome rumbling, followed by screams.<\/p>\n

Ahmed Scott arrived to collect his car after work and found a disaster in the making.<\/p>\n

In video he shot from across the street, someone off-camera yells, \u201cGuard! 911! 911! There\u2019s a building collapsing on Ann Street,\u201d followed by the sound of something crumpling. About 45 seconds later, two women run out, saying the building fell while they were inside it. A man stands on a fire escape as bystanders try to figure out how to help him get down. He eventually did, Scott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope ain\u2019t nobody else in there,\u201d Scott recalled thinking, worrying for the garage workers he\u2019d gotten to know.<\/p>\n

To Jadess Speller, a student at nearby Pace University, the collapse \u201cfelt like an earthquake \u2014 like the earth opened up inside, like that\u2019s how violent it was.\u201d Other students described seeing cars falling in the building.<\/p>\n

One vehicle landed on its end in the garage entrance, a photo posted by Mayor Eric Adams\u2019 office showed.<\/p>\n

Authorities believed they had accounted for everyone inside the building, but searches continued Tuesday evening to make sure no one was in any of the squashed cars, Fire Department Chief of Operations John Esposito said. One garage employee was rescued via a neighboring roof after being trapped on an upper floor, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was conscious and alert and moving around, calling us. He just couldn\u2019t get down,\u201d Esposito said. Four of the injured were hospitalized and in stable condition, and the fifth refused medical attention, he said.<\/p>\n

The garage caved in around 4 p.m., a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, and about half a mile (0.8 km) from the New York Stock Exchange. Pace evacuated an adjacent dorm and classroom building, and canceled all evening classes as it assessed the buildings\u2019 safety. School officials sent the displaced students to a student center while working out other accommodations.<\/p>\n

Don Mulligan was on the 17th floor of a nearby hotel when he heard a roar like a jet flying overhead and felt the high-rise sway.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou knew something was happening,\u201d said Mulligan, of Cincinnati. The hotel was evacuated, he said.<\/p>\n

It wasn\u2019t immediately clear what caused the collapse. City Buildings Department records show the three-story structure has been a garage at least since the 1920s, and there are no recent permits for construction.<\/p>\n

Messages were left for a parking company that lists the garage as one of its properties.<\/p>\n

The collapse left the building \u201ccompletely unstable,\u201d Adams said at a news conference. Esposito said firefighters had to pull out because of the danger, conducting searches instead with a drone and robotic dog.<\/p>\n

The building was \u201call the way pancaked, collapsed all the way to the cellar floor,\u201d acting Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said.<\/p>\n

William Flashnick, 19, was in a Pace classroom when he and his friends thought they heard an explosion and ran to a window to look. As they opened the window, a plume of thick dust rose in the air.<\/p>\n

When it cleared, they peered down into the parking structure, where cars were tossed asunder and a top deck had cracked open.<\/p>\n

Flashnick initially worried for all of their lives. One of his first thoughts was of the World Trade Center, which looms over the neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe freaked out. Given the history of this place, it\u2019s a little scary,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u00a92023 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n